A virtual environment typically involves one or more computing platforms and/or hardware executing virtualization software for implementing virtual entitles, such as virtual machines (VMs). VMs may be usable for a variety of purposes, including web servers and/or multimedia servers. While physical network taps (e.g., external monitoring devices that monitors packet traffic between two network nodes) can be used to monitor communications in traditional networks, issues can arise in a virtual environment that make using physical network taps less desirable. In particular, since some packet traffic in a virtual environment may exist solely in a single device or computing platform, a physical network tap may be unable to observe this packet traffic effectively.
Accordingly, a need exists for methods, systems, and computer readable media for packet monitoring in a virtual environment.